California
Denser Neighborhoods Could Save Bay Area $31 Billion
Walkable, transit-accessible neighborhoods do more than just lower greenhouse gas emissions of their residents - they save them money too, states a new report, "Windfall for All", from the Bay Area's TransForm, a coalition of over 100 non-profits.
Broad Plan to Reshape San Francisco's Skyline
Planners in San Francisco are proposing a 145-acre "transit center district" that would dramatically reshape the city's skyline.
Brand-New Offramp Must Be Torn Down, Rebuilt
In Bakersfield, California contractors nearly completed a highway offramp when it was decided the grade was too steep and last-minute exiters might flip over. Parsons Brinkerhoff has agreed to eat the cost of rebuilding.
Alternative Fuels Won't Change the Expense of Driving
One of the conclusions of a new study in the San Francisco Bay Area is that switching to electric and alternative fuel cars won't reduce the burden on households because ownership is the most significant expense. Thus, density is the only way out.
HSR Too Slow? Blame CEQA
The California High Speed Rail Blog says that the biggest obstacle to building HSR in California isn't the cost, but a number of problems with the planning process, especially the California Environmental Quality Act.
Cycling: It's About Individualism?
In this op-ed, Verlyn Klinkenborg posits that cycling, at least on the Stanford campus, is more about asserting one's identity than anything else.
Huge San Francisco Redevelopment Project Underway
It's the largest redevelopment project since the great earthquake of 1906: 702 acres, 10,500 residential units, a shipyard brownfield cleanup, and a new stadium (hopefully) for the 49ers. The Environmental Impact Report has just been released.
LA, Orange Counties Collide on Freeways
As traffic congestion has worsened, so has the philosophical divide between LA and Orange counties in terms of how to address it.
LA's Newest Rail Meets Skepticism
The Gold Line extension served 75,000 riders for its grand opening, but ridership dropped by over two-thirds for its first weekday operations.
Transit Expansion is Streetlife Expansion in L.A.
An extension of one of L.A.'s light rail lines opened this past weekend. Los Angeles Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne offers a hopeful prediction that the extension will inspire an improvement in streetlife.
All Eggs in the HSR Basket
California Governor Schwarzenegger has ordered state officials to seek federal funding only for the state's high-speed rail project--at the expense of efforts to make Metrolink trains safer, some say.
HSR Can't Come Fast Enough
Many in Sacramento and California's Central Valley are concerned that they aren't being prioritized in the process to get high-speed rail moving.
Lucrative Congestion-Priced Parking Applied in SF
Parking by the Giants Stadium costs $1 less an hour than before the pilot program began, but on 'game days', the rate shoots up four-fold. Parking rates are not set daily but hourly by time of day, and have become quite profitable.
Bay Area's First Bike Sharing Program Proceeds
The Valley Transportation Authority plans to release its final report on a bike share program by the end of the year.
The Green Stadium That Isn't
A critical look at the football stadium proposed for outside Los Angeles, called "green" architecture, but it seems the costs will far outweigh its benefits.
Cycling Safety for All
The Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition and Kaiser Permanente are teaming up to offer safety training, bike helmets, and lights to day laborers.
California Seeks Statewide Growth Strategy
The state of California is unveiling an effort to create a detailed strategy for how the state should grow. The ambitious plan is being kickstarted with a modest $2.5 million investment.
'We Can't Fight Blight With Blight'
That was the message of nonprofit San Francisco Beautiful in their successful campaign to stop Proposition D, which would have created a special sign district in the mid-Market area in hopes of revitalizing it.
There Are Planners, And There Are Politicians
Put the chief planners of seven of North America's most progressive cities in a room and ask about their challenges, they inevitably point to the overriding role of the political leaders they serve. Expanding public open space also was raised.
The Fall of Victorville
Victorville, CA is a textbook case of the housing bubble gone wrong. Moving forward, Warren Karlenzig argues that places like Victorville show the need to consider a new paradigm of density and efficiency moving forward.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Town of Zionsville
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Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
